This invention relates to a heat exchange process and associated apparatus for the cooling or heating of a gas prior to its treatment in a subsequent process.
In many processes in the chemical industry, for example in gas-cleaning or catalytic processes, it is necessary to precool or heat the gas prior to the actual process. Cooling takes place frequently against cooling water since it is inexpensive, almost always available and, at the same time, acts as an absorbent for impurities, thus effecting a preliminary purification of the gas. The final temperature attainable in this connection, however, is limited by the local cooling water conditions.
For heating a gas, there is employed waste heat obtained, generally through an intermediate heat transfer medium, from the primary process or from another process step. In most cases, however, costly equipment and additional energy charges are involved in the utilization of such waste heat.